The Fallen
by AmberHerondale
Summary: -CP2 Spoilers- In which Will is tortured, Tessa is heartbroken, and Jem is terrified for his parabatai.


**This is sort of an experiment. If anyone is interested, I'll continue it. We'll see, I guess- but no guarantees.**

**This takes place after Jem and Tessa announce they're going to get married the next day.**

**Disclaimer- I own none.**

Axel Mortmain leaned back in his chair, twiddling his hands absentmindedly. The London Shadowhunters still had to reply to his offer of the _yin fen_/Tessa Gray trade. Any time now, a servant of his would come in with the news. After all, they had a limited time to take the deal.

Finally, the clock struck twelve. The Shadowhunter's time was up. They had chosen to refuse the bargain. Mortmain stood up, and walked to look out of the window. _What to do now… _He had thought the _yen fin_ was the perfect weapon, that the life of James Carstairs was something Miss Gray held above all else. It appeared he had been wrong, that or Mr. Carstairs had managed to stop her. That would make since; the boy cared for her as well. He would naturally be able, and willing, to stop her. He didn't care about his own life enough to exchange Tessa.

Mortmain could not win, it seemed, until both Mr. Carstairs and Tessa Gray would be content with the trade-off. The _yen fen _was not important enough. It would have to be something else, something they both loved. He racked his mind for something, for _anything_, that they would both hold dear…

Mortmain smiled. He knew just the thing. A memory had come floating back to him, of a day many weeks past: _He leaned over her body, shocked. Tessa Gray had really done it. She had rather died then be with him. Horror descended over him, and he felt his fury fill him when the door burst in. He turned his head slowly to see a dark haired boy standing at the doorway, terror in his eyes as he looked at Miss Gray. It was Will Herondale._

_ "I…" He said, not sure what he could say._

_ "You killed her," Herondale said numbly._

_ "No," he said, shaking his head. "I didn't touch her. She did this to herself."_

_ "You lie." Herondale stepped towards him, ill-intent obvious in the way he raised his blade. "Do you know what happens when I drive one of these into human flesh? It will burn as it cuts you. You will die in agony, burning from the inside out."_

_Now there_, Mortmain thought, _is someone who cares for Tessa Gray_. Better yet, Herondale doubled as Mr. Carstairs' _parabatai. _He would work just perfectly.

Tessa walked down the stairs to meet Jessamine, numb after her conversation with Will. She had hoped, hoped so blindly, that he could move on. Slowly forget his old love for her. Yet he still loved her- he had even said he loved her more than ever. And her feelings for Will wouldn't vanish either; they kept flaring up horribly whenever they spoke to each other.

When he had said those words, that he loved her, those feelings had turned from a spark to a forest fire. She couldn't help but begin to tell him that perhaps she, too, was still in love. Thank God Charlotte had called them. Whatever might have happened….

She pushed open the Institute doors, heading out into the sunshine. The others, everyone except Will, were standing awkwardly on the steps. She hurried to join them just in time to hear Charlotte say worriedly, "Another carriage?" Tessa looked, and indeed there were two carriages. One was driven by a Silent Brother.

Gabriel replied to Charlotte haughtily, saying "An escort. Perhaps the Silent Brothers are worried she will try to escape."

Charlotte shook her head, sounding confused. "No. She wouldn't-"

Suddenly the drivers were getting off the carriages, and Charlotte fell silent. Then suddenly, Tessa wasn't quite sure how it happened, the Silent Brother was getting stabbed, and all hell broke loose. Weapons were drawn and the Shadowhunters were rushing forwards. Charlotte was yelling something that Tessa couldn't understand. Henry was running to Jessamine, and the Lightwoods were charging into the chaos.

The machines raced towards them. Tessa could barely make out Jem calling her name, and then Tessa was grabbing a weapon off the wall. Charlotte nearby was warring with an automaton with her golden whip. Tessa tried to help, but the machine only attacked her. She gasped and spun, only to be saved by Will.

Will. He ran in front of her, slashing madly at the automaton. It fought back viciously, and Tessa could see a large gash on Will's shoulder. Will tackled it, and they crashed to the ground.

There was a moment, then, where time stood still.

And then Will was being dragged into the carriage. He tried to stab the machine, but it didn't work, and suddenly- Will was gone.

The machines seemed to all fall back instantaneously, and Tessa heard Jem scream her name once more. "Jem!" She called, but there was no response. Cold fear surrounded Tessa. Will had been pulled back into the crowd of automatons, and was nowhere in sight. She didn't know if Jem was still fine or if he was injured- possibly seriously.

Tessa turned and pushed through the automatons to find Charlotte, Henry, Gabriel, Gideon, Sophie, Cecily, and –thank God- Jem. All of them were standing, though they bore varying degrees of injuries. Tessa broke down at the sight of Jem, ad throw herself into his arms. He caught her, and spun her so he could see her face. "Thank the Angel," he murmured anxiously. "You're alright, aren't you?"

"I'm perfectly fine," she said, attempting a smile (and failing). "But-"

"No," he said, shaking his head. "There is no 'but'. You are not injured."

"Jem-"

He buried his head in the crook of her neck. She caught at her breath. Jem seemed so relieved that she hated to ruin it for him. But _Will…_

"Wait," Charlotte said uneasily. "Where s Will?"

Jem stood up then, looking at Charlotte. "He went to go find Cyril. He wasn't outside for the fight."

"No," Tessa said quietly.

Jem turned to her. "What?"

"No," Tessa said again, biting at her lip. "That was what I was trying to tell you. Will-" Her voice broke, and she had to pause for a second. In that moment, Tessa could see the relief drain from Jem's face, only to be replaced with absolute fear. "They took him, Jem. They took Will. I'm so sorry."

Will awoke slowly, a throbbing pain in his head and left arm. He groaned and rolled over, feeling for the comfort of his bed. He found instead a cold, metal floor. He jumped to his feet, finding himself in a dungeon-like room, such as from the medieval times. Will reached for a weapon, but found nothing. He cursed- not surprised, but disappointed all the same.

There was no one else in the room. In fact, the whole room was empty, except for Will himself and some chains attached to the wall in the corner. Will swallowed. That didn't look good.

There was a grinding sound across the room, and Will spun to find a door opening. Mortmain strolled in, smiling callously. "William Herondale," he said slowly. "We meet again."

Will raised an eyebrow. "Good lord, that sounds clichéd. Have you been reading the dramatic novels? Because if you haven't, I daresay I'll have to be the one to break it to you: The clichéd villain never wins. Truly; it never happens."

Mortmain didn't drop the smile. "We will see, Mr. Herondale. We will see."

Thirty minutes later, Will couldn't help but scream.


End file.
